Tea Party Treats
Rhubarb shortcake fingers recipe
What is it about tea parties that makes food more fun? Is it that pretty much everything comes in bite-size pieces? Is it that it's the afternoon (although not exclusively)? Is it the tea? Whatever it is, tea parties are great.
Having some sort of afternoon teatime has long been tradition in Wales and perhaps that gives us an insight into why tea parties – and tea party food – are so popular. Bobby Freeman notes in her book Welsh Country Cakes and Buns:
Tea-time in Wales is a delight, for the Welsh are very fond of all kinds of cakes and buns and all the delicious batter scones and pancakes traditionally made on the bakestone.
It seems to be ingrained in Welsh culture, too. This quote comes from Richard Llewellyn’s How Green Was My Valley:
…the Valley waiting quietly for us to fill it with song. Fill it we did, for hours, sitting in the street, with all the windows open and people leaning out to sing, and Ivor conducting from the top of a chair in the middle of the Hill. Sometimes you would see a few women go into the house, and a couple of minutes later come out with big teapots, and home brew in jugs, and others again would come out with bread and cheese and cake. But the singing never stopped.
My Nanna Lena – who would have turned 98 this past week – was a firm tea party thrower. Any child’s birthday was cause for a family gathering around her red Formica table, often in the garden if sunny, although more often than not in the dining room. In fact, now I think about it, tea parties at Nanna's house must have been for more than just birthdays as they happened so frequently, although I do come from a giant Welsh family so anything is possible.
The kids would sit around the table on chairs of varying heights (both the children and the chairs) and the adults would stand around. I think that they were possibly the happiest of times for my Nanna and Poppa, seeing all the family enjoying themselves and the kids getting slowly more sugar-induced, ready to be sent back home with cursing parents wrestling cardigans onto flailing arms.
Back to the food. There are some items that always appeared on the paper table-clothed dining table, and in fact still do feature on a family tea party spread. They are:
Corned beef pie (cut into squares)
Fairy cakes (often made into butterfly cakes with Bird's Dream Topping)
A sponge
White sliced bread sandwiches cut into triangles (any filling goes here)
Crisps
Fondant fancies and/or Party Rings
Mini sausage rolls (preferably warm out of the oven)
Jelly and ice cream
Quiche (probably cheese and bacon)
Sherry trifle
We had a tea party in the street for VE Day back in 1995, which my Nanna organised. Everyone in her little close put out tables and chairs and bunting and all the families visited. It’s one of those memories imprinted on my brain.
This weekend has called for tea parties of all kinds – diolch yn fawr Your Majesty – and I popped down to see my brother and brother-in-law in Cardiff for a Jubilee sandwich or two, a cuppa and a family get together. Here’s part of the spread, where you’ll notice several items from my list above. Welsh cakes were my contribution – they travel well by train.
That was not my only tea party this week but it was the most familiar, with the best food. I'm not sure I can quite look at another coronation chicken sandwich triangle or piece of Victoria sponge for a while. Oh, who am I kidding? Pass the sausage rolls!
The Recipe
Rhubarb shortcake fingers
If I had a garden, I’d probably grow rhubarb. It’s easy enough to grow and pretty hardy from what I’ve been told. It’s also one of those delightful things to eat in the summer months. I love the taste of it in crumbles, tarts and pies. With this issue of the newsletter dedicated to tea party food, I thought I’d make something that could be shared easily. This recipe is based on one from a book called Farmhouse Fare: Recipes from Country Housewives collected by Farmers Weekly via Bobby Freeman’s First Catch Your Peacock. It was sent in by from a farm in Glamorgan.
Ingredients (makes 10-12 fingers)
400g rhubarb (about 3 stalks), roughly chopped
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp caster sugar
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
300g plain flour
120g butter, cubed
75g caster sugar
1 egg
6 tbsp milk
Method
Place the chopped rhubarb in a saucepan along with the water, tablespoon of caster sugar, ginger and cinnamon. Simmer very gently until soft and pulpy.
Meanwhile, rub together the flour and butter in a large bowl until it resembles breadcrumbs. Tip in the sugar and mix to combine.
Add the egg and 4 tablespoons of the milk and milk together. Add the other milk as needed until you form a stiff dough.
Remove the stewed rhubarb and allow to cool. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/350°F/180°C.
Split the dough into two. Roll out into equal sized squares about 1cm thick.
Place one on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Top with the cooled rhubarb pulp and then gently place the other slab of dough on top to form a sandwich.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until pale golden. Remove and sprinkle with more caster sugar. Allow to cool before slicing into fingers.
If you try the recipe out, don’t forget to tag any photos with #mywelshkitchen.
The Playlist
To me, cooking and music go hand in hand, whether that’s singing at the top of your voice using a wooden spoon as a microphone while waiting for pasta to boil, or dancing around with the oven gloves on as the oven timer counts down. Here are this week’s ideas for your Welsh Kitchen playlist.
This issue we’re listening to the incredibly talented Rebecca Devereux from Swansea who performed at ‘A Gallop Through History’, a show for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations in Windsor Castle. Then we’ve got the Royal Welch Fusiliers 1st Bn Band and Blaenavon Male Voice Choir.
Sing by Rebecca Devereux with Academy Voices USW Trinity St David & the National Symphony Orchestra
God Save The Queen by Royal Welch Fusiliers 1st Bn Band and Blaenavon Male Voice Choir
The Pantry
Good food is nothing without good ingredients and thankfully there are plenty of fantastic Welsh products on the market. Here is where you’ll find recommendations to stock up your cupboard, fridge or fruit bowl, or a really great place for food.
Aber Falls Single Malt Welsh Whisky
I was lucky enough to get a taste of this whisky recently and it’s an absolute beauty. It launched last year and has been years in the making. In fact, Aber Falls is the first whisky distillery in North Wales in over 100 years.